Lawyer Tells Us HGTV Star Christina Hall's Third Divorce From Josh Hall Will Likely Cost Her Big

The third time is not always the charm. HGTV's Christina Hall (maiden name Christina Haack) has been married three times, and each marriage has ended in divorce. After splits from Tarek El Moussa and Ant Anstead, Christina and Josh Hall tied the knot in 2021. However, in July 2024, it was announced that Josh filed for divorce. There were signs that Christina and Josh's marriage wouldn't last, such as how quickly it moved. TMZ also reported that Christina was planning to file as well, which she did shortly after Josh's petition was announced.

Now that Christina and Josh's relationship is coming to a close, the contentious topic of who gets what is coming into play. Per Page Six, both of them are requesting for the other to pay spousal support and asking the court to drop the other person's request. Christina's documents said she will decide later how to divvy up their assets. Josh wants everything (except gifts or inherited assets) that they acquired while married to be split evenly. He also wants full rights to the TV programs they produced during their marriage. One called "The Flip Off" has yet to release and also stars Tarek and his new wife, Heather Rae El Moussa.

The List spoke to Los Angeles estate lawyer Arash Sadat of Mills, Sadat, Dowlat LLP on what will likely happen with Christina and Josh's divorce, and it's messy. Since Christina and Josh didn't have a prenuptial agreement, that automatically makes things challenging.

Arash Sadat exclusively told The List, "No prenup means that Christina [Hall] and Josh [Hall] will need to fight it out in court over who gets what. This is obviously much messier — and more expensive — than distributing assets and income through an argument." He added that the court will need to decide which money and assets need to be split between Christina and Josh and which belongs to them as individuals.

Sadat also spoke on what Christina and Josh were asking for and which is realistic. "Josh's position is consistent with California law," Sadat said. "Christina's position is not. It's not up to Christina to decide how the assets will be split. That is for the court to determine based on the evidence." He explained that the California 50/50 rule would affect the divorce case if that's the state Christina and Josh reside in. 

"Under that rule," Sadat said, "property acquired by either spouse during a marriage is generally considered community property and is presumed to be owned equally by both spouses. In a divorce, that property is split 50/50." As for the drama of spousal support payments, Sadat explained that the person who made more money while they were married will be the one to pay up.

When asked about how dividing assets usually goes in divorce cases, Arash Sadat said it's less expensive to decide amongst yourself who gets what, so that's what people usually do. He went on to say that judges could make those calls and added, "Divorce cases in particular can be difficult to settle because of the emotions involved."

The lawyer was unsure how things with Josh's desired TV rights will shake up. "That said, they can be treated like any other income-producing asset," Sadat said. "Assuming they are community property obtained during the marriage, the money that they generate can be split, and the rights themselves can be valued (likely by an expert witness), with each spouse receiving half of that amount."

Christina and her ex Tarek El Moussa already had a messy divorce, and he may get caught up in this court case since he literally stars in one of the shows that Josh wants the rights for. Sadat said Christina being more famous than Josh wouldn't affect the rights situation, adding, "If the TV rights are property acquired by either spouse during marriage, each spouse will likely receive half of their value. As for Tarek, whatever rights he has to the TV rights will likely come from Christina's share, not Josh's." Christina and El Moussa were able to mend their relationship and are on friendly terms, but it's unclear if Christina and Josh can do the same as they go through this process.